Grosse offene Welt is geil, die Ablehnung schneller Reisemethoden (a la Rifts) nervt mich aber jetzt schon.

3. We do not know much about the PvP system. We just know a little about the PK system and castle sieges. Please tell us more about castle ownership and if there will be any bonuses related to this? What kind of penalties should we expect from death in PvP?

–> Players can take over a territory and build his/her own castle. Even players who are not a member of the landlord’s guild or similar group can build houses and live in the territory. A little bit of tax will have to paid in this case, and this will be the income of the landlord. Other guilds or groups can take over the landlord’s territory through sieges. If taken over, the players who have been living in the territory will, depending on the landlord’s decision, continue to live there as is or have to pay higher taxes. There is no penalty for PvP between different guilds or groups (there may be certain rewards in some cases). But there will be strict penalties for PvP between groups within the same faction (e.g. going to jail for a certain time, being expelled from the faction and becoming a pirate faction if continuously repeated). A pirate faction can be an enemy force of all factions.

"Horses, carriages, ships, and airships will be available. Horses can be ridden by two people, and the one sitting at the back can engage in combat (such as shooting arrows). The carriage can accommodate more people. Carriages will be provided as a means of public transportation running from zone to zone, but they will also be available for users to own. Ships can be owned by users as well, and there is no explicit limit to the number of people who can board. Airships will only travel around the pre-determined airways."

Also, the horse can wear armor, gain levels, and learn new skills. At level one it can only knock back enemies, but as it levels, it gains access to skills like throwing the rider off to selected position – a quite long-range skill or a skill that allows the rider to fight mounted. In addition, you can dismount from your horse, order it to stand still or follow you. If the horse gets killed while someone is mounted on it – the rider will fall down on the ground to continue the fight. You can also ride your horse together with somebody. Moreover, the passenger can thus fend off enemies - wield a weapon or shoot a bow.

You can also find an island or just some free spot with great sights and lay the foundation of your house. Your house is your fortress and your new home. You can build and manage furniture freely around your house, invite people to your house, smith some armor if you install a forge in it, do plenty of stuff, just remember to clean the mess up! Outside the house you are free to construct a farm and a garden, the crops you grow belong to you, and you can collect them once they are ready to cook something or just sell it on the market. If you construct a group of houses with your friends, you can actually form a village, because it is possible to construct not only private houses, but public ones too.

When will American and/or European players get a chance to beta test?
From the start of this project, the US and Europe have been key target markets for ArcheAge. We want to make sure that we do everything necessary to ensure the success of ArcheAge in these markets. We do not want to prematurely invite American or European players to the beta test. At the same time, we know how important it is not to delay it too long. So maybe after we have tested it somewhat in the Korean market and the development team has taken a breath.

Do you have a targeted release window?
We do not have fixed dates for any market, but would like to commercialize in Korea during next year and expand into other overseas markets as early as possible.

Allerdings habe ich auch ein bischen Angst, daß sich da jetzt zu hohe Erwartungen aufbauen die dann später nicht eingehalten werden können bzw. sich das Spiel anderst darstellt als wir das jetzt reininterpretieren.

# In the videos we’ve seen, it seems most professions, including shipbuilding, were automated. Will these professions have some sort of gameplay, like a minigame? Or is success based on simply pressing a button…as we are accustomed to in most other games?
–> Currently crafting works by simply pressing a button. We intended to combine various minigame mechanics, such as clicking the mouse at certain time, but it was not fun. That is why it has been simplified, like it is now.

# How important will crafting be in the game? A player can devote himself exclusively to crafting and have a good time?
–> In the current design it is impossible to level-up through crafting only. Additionally, certain levels are required for higher level recipes. Gold is also needed. Hence, I think some combat and leveling will be necessary.

# Can a player evolve and prosper without having engage in battle?
–> No, it is not possible.

# Will the PvP continent will be entirely controlled by the players? What about the game economy? How do you expect the political states will affect the game?
–> In order to protect fresh players coming into the PvP continent (we call it the original/ancient continent) for the first time, there will by a small area controlled by NPCs. Players can conquer the inner regions, zone by zone. Each zone will have some main resources and the expeditionary force that has taken over the zone will control the resources as well.

# Is ArcheAge a dynamic world? For example, if a city is regularly attacked, can it be destroyed? On the other hand, if people build a small settlement can it become a fortified city/village?
–> We plan to maintain the two southern continents as static worlds for newcomers and players who do not like PvP. However, on the original/ancient continent, players can build villages as well as castles which can also be destroyed by other players. We have not yet considered monster attacks destroying settlements, though.

# Players can PK, right? If so, do they have some kind of real risk or only the typical death penalty, such as a debuff?
–> Yes, players can choose to PK. It is not final yet, but we plan to have different types of servers. For example, there will be a PvP server where you can even PK characters of your own faction or alliance and a separate server where you can only PK those of the opposing sides. We do not want to make the death penalty too harsh. As of now, we are considering temporary debuffs. If a player chooses to PK, he/she will gain some criminal points. If the criminal point accumulates up to a certain point the player could go to jail for some time. If the player continues to accumulate more criminal points, at certain point he/she will be expelled from his/her faction and become a pirate. A pirate will have some restriction in enjoying some common contents. However, there will be no penalty such as loss of stats. And besides, the player can always rejoin the faction through other activities.

ArcheAge, which has informed players of its basic direction and developmental intention through two tests, is set to launch another test in April. As players found the game's unique content relatively difficult, the official company is going to simplify the gameplay in the future, so that players can enjoy the game more conveniently and freely.